Fantasy failed inspection

[BandBWCsmom]

The most disturbing result mentioned in the article is the crew member unilaterally deciding what is "clean" and what is "dirty" from the trays of silverware collected...

 

https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-cruise-ship-fails-health-inspection/

 

 

[joepeka]

Yeah, Fantasy hasn't had a score that low since 1990!

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionScoresAll.aspx?ColV=NzM3NA%3d%3d-JKvNsPKgZFE%3d

[jbethel11]

This is absolutely disgusting. I hate flies flying around food! 😖

[evandbob]

Getting a 77 when just passing is an 85 is a pretty pathetic low score.  I'll never sail the IMO too old Fantasy or any ship in the class so I won't be directly affected, but this , along with Carnival's laissez-faire attitude about environmental concerns, just keeps bringing them lower on my cruise line rating.

 

I've sailed Carnival over 40 times and 300 days, and I admit low fares whitewashed some of my initial poor impressions.  Hey for a low fare, I can ignore tacky decor and cheesy CDs.  But health and environmental concerns are another story.  Now that I have more freedom to choose other lines, the negative PR Carnival seems to bring on itself makes Carnival a low end choice for this Diamond.

 

There really is no excuse for not passing a health inspection.  There are no surprises in what the USCG looks for, Carnival ships have done this drill over and over, and should be pros at it, scoring over 95 each time, rather than backsliding into a failing grade.

 

Shame on you, Carnival Fantasy!

[TNcruising02]

The guy sorting the utensils and wiping off some of them should be fired.  That is disgusting.  The flies are also disgusting.  

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

There really is no excuse for not passing a health inspection.  There are no surprises in what the USCG looks for, Carnival ships have done this drill over and over, and should be pros at it, scoring over 95 each time, rather than backsliding into a failing grade.

The USCG does not perform these inspections. They are performed by employees of the VSP a department of the CDC. 

 

From the CDC:

" The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships. VSP operates under the authority of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section 264 Quarantine and Inspection Regulations to Control Communicable Diseases).

VSP is part of the National Center for Environmental Health’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. " 

Follow the ships you will be sailing on here: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm

Edited August 9, 2019 by sanmarcosman

[gatour]

48 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

I chalk some of this up to poor staff training. Where's management in all this?

After reviewing the report, and based on my experience in the food service industry,  I concur.

 

For some things the inspectors can be nit picky, so I "read between the lines" when I read restaurant sanitation reports.  Many of these items are process issues that can be rectified by better training.  This reflects on Food and Beverage management and they should be held accountable.

 

A few of the items are design issues that need to be updated, i.e. corporate Carnival needs to approve expenditures to correct the deficiencies. 

[Organized Chaos]

The silverware thing is nasty. Any silverware that goes out on a plate or tray should immediately be considered dirty, whether the passenger uses it or not. All silverware coming back should be washed, period.

[cheggy]

Not surprised. Sail on her in 1999 and it was scary! Puddle of blood by drinking fountain on pool deck about size of CD. I reported it and they said they would get it cleaned right away.  I walked back through about 45 minutes later and it was spread all over deck where kids waded through it and jumped back in pool!  I would not accept a FREE CRUISE on that ship.

[Lottacruises]

Maybe the silverware wiper was concerned for the environment and did not want to unnecessarily run those unused utensils through the dishwasher. 

 

The answer:  I already have and you probably have too....

[linbobky]

i have sailed the fantasy 2 times and will be on her in sept. for a 10 day panama canal cruise. am i worried? no!  the problem will be fixed by then. it will be fixed by now for sure. i love the fantasy.

[BandBWCsmom]

13 minutes ago, Lottacruises said:

Maybe the silverware wiper was concerned for the environment and did not want to unnecessarily run those unused utensils through the dishwasher. 

 

The answer:  I already have and you probably have too....

Thank you for that lovely thought that we already have... 😞

[Tapi]

We sailed on the Fantasy back in February. It was my return to Carnival after 8 years. While we had a very enjoyable cruise with friends, the impression that I got was that this ship has been sadly neglected. She had just come out of drydock a few weeks prior and the maintenance and neglect issues that I noticed throughout the ship were many. The crew, while friendly and doing their best to smile and engage with guests, was spread too thin. The exhaustion was palpable and many were just going through the motions, like zombies. 

 

I'm truly not surprised that the Fantasy got this score. I think that it's a direct reflection of what I noticed on our sailing. When you spread your employees too thin, and your work environment is neglected, corners will need to be cut and morale will be low. I hope that this is a wake up call to rectify what I consider to be a deeper issue. 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Tapi

[MCC retired]

This made the local news here in Florida.

CCL says all items have been corrected and they wish a re inspection .

Too late , damage is done .

That separating silverware as clean from used is a new one on me 🤮

[Purvis1231]

I bring a pack of plastic forks!

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, MCC retired said:

This made the local news here in Florida.

CCL says all items have been corrected and they wish a re inspection .

Too late , damage is done .

That separating silverware as clean from used is a new one on me 🤮

 

Yeah, their spokesperson said they asked for re-inspection "as soon as possible." Of course they want it ASAP, everything's perfect right now. But if they get hit in a few months, maybe not so much. 😏

[TomCruise48]

7 hours ago, BandBWCsmom said:

The most disturbing result mentioned in the article is the crew member unilaterally deciding what is "clean" and what is "dirty" from the trays of silverware collected...

 

I wonder what authority the CDC inspector has to require immediate correction.  In this case, it should be assumed that this was not isolated to one crew member and one location.  All silverware at all locations on the ship should have been immediately collected and sent to be washed again.  Even if the inspector did not order this, the F&B manager should have taken this action, followed immediately by retraining of all F&B staff.

 

Where I live, land based restaurants can be immediately forced to close for serious violations.  I would consider this a serious violation.  Perhaps if the inspector had the authority to "close" the ship and disembark all guests, cruise lines would take health and sanitation issues more seriously.

[chengkp75]

USPH inspectors have the authority to stop a ship from sailing if there is a serious threat to public health. I haven't read the report yet, but obviously they didn't feel that any of the violations were an imminent threat.

[Micahs Grandad]

Wonder if any heads will roll. Failure of management for sure

[Organized Chaos]

8 hours ago, TomCruise48 said:

I wonder what authority the CDC inspector has to require immediate correction.  In this case, it should be assumed that this was not isolated to one crew member and one location.  All silverware at all locations on the ship should have been immediately collected and sent to be washed again.  Even if the inspector did not order this, the F&B manager should have taken this action, followed immediately by retraining of all F&B staff.

 

I’m interested to know if this was one (or more) rogue crew member or if management was aware, or maybe even instructed crew to do it. I’ve always felt many of the lower-level crew were too afraid to lose their jobs by doing something like that. I mean, any rational person knows that’s wrong in food service. So that makes me wonder if it came from a supervisor. If so, that person should lose their job.

 

Surely, hopefully, the inspector told them to wash everything at that point.

[Micahs Grandad]

Probably we will never know but would not be surprised if crew member did it on his own to reduce workload. Of course someone should be watching to make sure cleanliness started are upheld.

[chengkp75]

28 minutes ago, Micahs Grandad said:

Probably we will never know but would not be surprised if crew member did it on his own to reduce workload. Of course someone should be watching to make sure cleanliness started are upheld.

As I've said before, if management fully embraced the sanitation philosophy, the can instill a culture where the proper practices becomes second nature, and is easier to follow than not.

[evandbob]

17 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

The USCG does not perform these inspections. They are performed by employees of the VSP a department of the CDC. 

 

From the CDC:

" The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships. VSP operates under the authority of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section 264 Quarantine and Inspection Regulations to Control Communicable Diseases).

VSP is part of the National Center for Environmental Health’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. " 

Follow the ships you will be sailing on here: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm

 

Thanks for the correction.  Perhaps I should have just said government inspectors or overseers instead of specifying a particular and wrong department.

[TomCruise48]

7 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As I've said before, if management fully embraced the sanitation philosophy, the can instill a culture where the proper practices becomes second nature, and is easier to follow than not.

 

chengkp75,

 

I was hoping you would join the discussion.  Does the CDC send multiple inspectors when they inspect the ship?  How much authority do these inspectors have to demand immediate correction?  It would seem to me that the word would spread rapidly once the inspector(s) were onboard, and that any crew member who knew the rules would be careful to follow them as soon as it was known that the ship was under inspection.  If that were the case, most of the in process violations would be only those caught within the first hour or so before the word spread.  

 

I agree with your assessment that Carnival has not instilled the proper culture.  I was hoping that the CDC could take a drastic enough action to get top management's attention.  As I mentioned in a previous post, some health department inspectors can immediately shut down land based restaurants and will not let them reopen until the owner appears at a hearing with a suitable corrective action plan.

[chengkp75]

51 minutes ago, TomCruise48 said:

 

chengkp75,

 

I was hoping you would join the discussion.  Does the CDC send multiple inspectors when they inspect the ship?  How much authority do these inspectors have to demand immediate correction?  It would seem to me that the word would spread rapidly once the inspector(s) were onboard, and that any crew member who knew the rules would be careful to follow them as soon as it was known that the ship was under inspection.  If that were the case, most of the in process violations would be only those caught within the first hour or so before the word spread.  

 

I agree with your assessment that Carnival has not instilled the proper culture.  I was hoping that the CDC could take a drastic enough action to get top management's attention.  As I mentioned in a previous post, some health department inspectors can immediately shut down land based restaurants and will not let them reopen until the owner appears at a hearing with a suitable corrective action plan.

There will be 4 to 5 inspectors.

There is a difference between local health inspectors and USPH. USPH is not mandated with ensuring the health of the passengers, but with preventing the introduction of infectious diseases into the US, so if there isn't an imminent threat, they won't demand immediate action, but most lines will try to correct as many items as possible, and this will be noted on the report. The VSP is a program developed so that cruise ships calling at the US weekly, do not have to be fully inspected every week, with the attendant delays to turn around, including interviews with passengers about their health before disembarking.

 

If the proper culture is not present, then the crew won't care about the proper practices, and this is why USPH requires a meal service during the inspection, to stress the crew to see if the proper practices are second nature or not.

 

Again, not at home, working off the phone, so I haven't read the report, but even the silverware issue, while disgusting and unsanitary would not be considered a major threat. When Silversea had a ship where the inspectors found potentially hazardous food "hidden" in crew passageways and cabins, the inspectors poured bleach on the food items so they couldn't be used again, but did not stop the ship.